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Hot Potato: ‘UFC Rio’ Ring Girl Maria Melilo

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According to Terra Sports (via MMAMania), Brazilian model Maria Melilo has reportedly been hired as a guest Octagon Girl for UFC 134, August 27th in Rio De Janeiro — beating out other local ring girl hopefuls like Carol Dias and Juliana Salimeni. But don’t worry, she’s qualified. Maria (also known as “Meg”) has held round-cards for Brazilian MMA promotions including Jungle Fight, has appeared in Brazilian Playboy, and won the 11th season of Big Brother Brasil. Check out lots more photos of her after jump, and share your thoughts in the comments section…

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The MMA Hour With Anderson Silva in Studio, Chuck Liddell, BJ Penn

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, VideosThree of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts will be stopping by The MMA Hour on Monday.

* Anderson Silva, along with manager Ed Soares, will be in studio. The UFC middleweight champion wi…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, Videos

Three of the best fighters in the history of mixed martial arts will be stopping by The MMA Hour on Monday.

* Anderson Silva, along with manager Ed Soares, will be in studio. The UFC middleweight champion will discuss his upcoming title fight against Yushin Okami at UFC 134 and his documentary, “Like Water,” which is featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. Also stopping by will be the documentary’s producer, Jared Freedman.

* Chuck Liddell, the UFC’s vice president of business development, will discuss life after fighting and his appearance at the UFC Fan Expo.

* BJ Penn will talk about his health status and what’s on deck for “The Prodigy.”

* Matt Mitrione will grace us with his presence for his popular “Mitrione Minute” segment and we will preview Saturday’s UFC 129 event.

And of course, we’ll be taking your calls. Give us a shout at: 212-254-0193 or 212-254-0237.

Watch the show live below beginning at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT. Download previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes: audio feed here; video feed here.

For Dan Severn, Rematch With Royce Gracie Is a Long Shot He Can’t Resist

Filed under: UFCDan Severn has always been a believer in setting goals for himself. Even now the 52-year-old UFC Hall of Famer writes down in his daily planner what he wants to accomplish by the end of each year, then checks that list almost every day …

Filed under: UFC

Dan Severn has always been a believer in setting goals for himself. Even now the 52-year-old UFC Hall of Famer writes down in his daily planner what he wants to accomplish by the end of each year, then checks that list almost every day to see if he’s on the right track.

But with an official record of 99-16-7 and a career that spans almost the entire history of MMA in North America, even Severn is running out of goals in the sport. There are only a few he’d still like to accomplish before he retires at the end of 2012, and the clock is running out.

For starters, he’d like to get to 100 wins. Since he already has three wins this year and two more fights scheduled before the end of May, that one seems perfectly feasible. But it’s who he’d like to eventually beat that may prove more problematic.

Dana White Shoots Down Royce Gracie UFC 134 Return Rumors

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsUFC president Dana White has indicated to MMA Fighting that the promotion has no interest in offering a fight to Brazilian pioneer Royce Gracie for the UFC’s upcoming August event in Rio de Janeiro, refuting pr…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

UFC president Dana White has indicated to MMA Fighting that the promotion has no interest in offering a fight to Brazilian pioneer Royce Gracie for the UFC’s upcoming August event in Rio de Janeiro, refuting previous reports that talks between the two sides could result in a Gracie return.

Just last week, Gracie told Brazilian news site Esporte.UOL.com that negotiations for his return were ongoing.

Brazil’s Barboza vs. England’s Pearson Set for UFC: Rio

Filed under: UFC, NewsThe UFC’s August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.

The latest fight announced for the card features unde…

Filed under: UFC, News

The UFC’s August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.

The latest fight announced for the card features undefeated Rio native Edson Barboza taking on Sunderland, England’s Ultimate Fighter winner, Ross Pearson. The fight was reported by Pearson’s hometown paper in Sunderland and was confirmed on the UFC’s official UK Twitter account.

Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio Rua Rematch to Take Place at UFC Rio Event

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, NewsA rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with k…

Filed under: UFC, FanHouse Exclusive, News

A rematch of the epic September 2007 matchup between Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will take place at the UFC’s upcoming event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, MMA Fighting has learned from sources with knowledge of the situation.

Early Friday morning, UFC president Dana White confirmed to MMA Fighting that the two former light-heavyweight champions would clash again.

The original scrap between the two took place at UFC 76, with Griffin winning via third-round submission, pulling off the finish with just 15 seconds left in the bout. Griffin used the momentum of that win to propel him into a championship victory over Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in July 2008.